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Chattanooga: Chicagoan installs deli in EPB Building

By: Jason Reynolds
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Richard Pemble

A Chicago native says he is bringing a fresh concept to downtown Chattanooga with a restaurant chain that’s new to the area.

“We keep things simple and the ingredients fresh,” said Richard Pemble, who with wife Marcella is opening the area’s first Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches.

The deli is to open in mid-December on the ground floor of the EPB Building, facing Market Street, Mr. Pemble said.

Jimmy John’s is taking half of EPB Building’s ground floor on Market Street, which is about 2,750 square feet, said Steve Clark, vice president of strategic systems for the utility. EPB has an additional 2,750 square feet available on Broad Street.

Jimmy John’s is the first commercial tenant to commit to the EPB Building’s ground floor, Mr. Clark said. EPB, which moved into the building in late 2006, is speaking to a possible tenant on a “casual basis” to take a second spot, he said.

Jimmy John’s, including the franchise fee and capital, is about a $350,000 investment, Mr. Pemble said. He and his wife moved to North Chattanooga last year to prepare for opening the restaurant. Mr. Pemble said he came to enjoy dining at Jimmy John’s when he was a hotel manager in Chicago.

Jimmy John Liautaud founded the restaurant in 1983 at the age of 19 in Charleston, Ill. The chain, headquartered in Champaign, Ill., has more than 690 stores, including locations in Knoxville, Nashville and Atlanta.

The Chattanooga eatery will buy its vegetables from a local distributor and slice them in-store, Mr. Pemble said, instead of buying prepackaged vegetables. Meat will be sliced throughout the day for freshness, he said. And bread will not be used four hours after baking, Mr. Pemble said — the bread will be offered for retail sale as day-old bread.

Mr. Pemble said that the freshness factor as well as the chain’s streamlined operations appealed to him when he decided to open his own franchise. A sandwich typically can be made in 30 seconds.

The process is structured to reduce waste, he said. There are about 17 sandwich varieties, five meats, two types of bread and one selection of cheese. Even though the bread is baked fresh there often is not any excess, he said.

“The more spread out the menu is, the more you end up with old product,” he said.

The Pembles chose Chattanooga for their franchise because they liked the city after checking possible franchise locations, he said. They chose downtown Chattanooga to be near the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and to get office lunch business.

Mr. Pemble and his wife, a native of Germany, will serve as the managers. They will hire about 30 workers, he said.

Depending on how the restaurant does they may open additional restaurants in the area sometime later, he said. Jimmy John’s will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, and will make deliveries, he said.

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